Guest House Films Acquires Worldwide Rights to Heartwarming

Australian Documentary The Doctor’s Wife

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:

(LOS ANGELES – FEB. 6, 2012) – Leading gay film production company and distributor Guest House Films has acquired the worldwide rights to Jonathan Duffy’s feature-length Australian documentary The Doctor’s Wife.  Following a film festival run starting this summer, Guest House Films plans to release the film on DVD and VOD this coming fall.

The endearing documentary follows Duffy and his partner, Dr. Vincent Cornelisse, as the couple makes the angst-inducing decision to leave the Australian metropolis of Brisbane for Mundubbera, a small country town in Queensland.  The Doctor’s Wife explores the couple’s journey, as a rural doctor and his partner who had never lived in the country before, as they move into the small town and wonder how they will be received.  To their surprise, the town welcomes them with open arms, especially when Duffy becomes involved with a variety of local activities while Cornelisse focuses on his medical practice.  The couple ultimately strikes a positive chord with the citizens, leaving everyone forever changed for the better.

The Doctor’s Wife has had a very successful film festival run in Duffy’s native Australia, including an upcoming screening at the Mardi Gras Film Festival in Sydney.  This is the first film from director Duffy, who also serves as the film’s writer, producer and editor. 

“I'm very happy Guest House Films has taken on The Doctor's Wife as I'm a big fan of the company's previous successes,” said Duffy.  “My film has been a huge part of my life for nearly three and a half years, so I wouldn't hand it over to just anyone.”

In addition to the U.S. release, Guest House Films also will handle international sales for the 96-minute documentary.  Film festival programmers and international distributors interested in receiving a screener of The Doctor’s Wife can contact Guest House Films at sales@guesthousefilms.com.

“When we first saw The Doctor’s Wife, we immediately recognized the universal appeal of its story and knew that we wanted Guest House Films to help bring the film to the world,” said Rob Williams, co-founder of Guest House Films.  “It’s fantastic to see such a feel-good movie that shows how accepting people can be, even when one expects it least.”

“The Doctor’s Wife is a perfect fit for Guest House Films, since we have always wanted to put out gay-themed films with positive messages,” said Rodney Johnson, co-founder of Guest House Films.  “Expanding our distribution operations with this engrossing documentary is an exciting step for us, and we look forward to bringing even more feature films, shorts and documentaries to our fans in the coming years.”

After its successful self-distribution of its dramatic feature film Role/Play in 2011, Guest House Films made the bold decision to launch its new distribution venture as a way to complement its existing production operations and allow the company to partner with other filmmakers who share the same creative vision in creating the kinds of movies they – as gay moviegoers – want to see.   The upcoming Feb. 21 release of Black Briefs, a DVD collection of dark-themed gay short films, will mark the company’s first distributed title, to be followed by additional short-film compilations highlighting different themes.  The second compilation, Blue Briefs, is scheduled for release this spring.

For more information about Guest House Films, visit www.guesthousefilms.com.  For more information on The Doctor’s Wife, visit www.doctorswifemovie.com.

About Guest House Films

Founded by Rob Williams and Rodney Johnson in 2005, Guest House Films LLC (www.guesthousefilms.com) has quickly become one of the industry’s most prolific and acclaimed independent gay film production companies.  It has released five films to date, including Long-Term Relationship, Back Soon, 3-Day Weekend, Make the Yuletide Gay and Role/Play.  It also has numerous projects in development, including The Mystic Chord, a big-screen adaptation of the Jim Tushinski novel “Van Allen’s Ecstasy”; and Make The Yuletide Gay 2, a sequel to the company’s award-winning 2009 Christmas comedy.  In 2011, it became the newest LGBT film distributor with the successful release of Role/Playand the announcement of its new short-film compilation series.